This Thursday might feel a little more like a Friday thanks to Orlando City winning a game last night. Sure, it was more like the Lions failed to complete an implosion, but we’ll take what we can get at this point. Another MLS match is on the horizon this weekend, so if you crafted any lucky charms, make sure to keep them out for a few more days. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Wins U.S. Open Cup Match

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Orlando City went on the road and beat FC Naples 1-0 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to advance to the round of 16. The Lions opted for a fairly young roster to start and managed to take the lead in the first half. The defense started to fall apart as the match wore on, but it managed to hold on by a matter of inches against the USL League One side for its first clean sheet of the year. Orlando is the last Floridian team standing in the tournament and its next match will be on the road against the New England Revolution on either April 28 or 29.

MLS Mostly Avoids Cupsets in Round of 32

There weren’t too many shocking results in the round of 32 of this year’s U.S. Open Cup, with the MLS clubs taking care of business for the most part. Charlotte FC crushed the Charlotte Independence 6-0, the Columbus Crew shut out the Richmond Kickers in a 3-0 win, and the New York Red Bulls beat the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-1. St. Louis City and the Houston Dynamo also cruised to comfortable wins. D.C. United was defeated though, losing the penalty shootout to One Knoxville SC after a thrilling game. Last year’s tournament didn’t include any teams from outside MLS in the quarterfinals. The Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Louisville City also managed to take down their MLS opponents earlier this week, so we’ll see if they can keep making noise later this month.

Takeaways From USWNT Loss to Japan

The United States Women’s National Team lost 1-0 to Japan in the second of three friendlies between the two this month, snapping its 10-game win streak. Head Coach Emma Hayes went with a young roster, with 20-year-old midfielder Claire Hutton becoming the team’s youngest captain since 2001. The team’s inexperience showed at times, particularly when it came to struggling to produce chances despite plenty of possession, but these were valuable minutes against one of the top teams in the world. We’ll see how the team responds on Friday when the two play again in Denver.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Set

Only four teams remain in the UEFA Champions League after an exciting series of quarterfinals. Bayern Munich advanced after beating Real Madrid 4-3 in a rollercoaster of a match that included five goals in the first half. Arda Guler had a brace within the first 30 minutes, but Bayern kept things close and then scored two late goals after Eduardo Camavinga was shown a red card in the 86th minute. The match between Arsenal and Sporting was a quieter affair, with Arsenal advancing on aggregate after a scoreless draw.

The semifinals don’t feature any teams from the same country and should be a fun round of matches. Atletico Madrid will square off against Arsenal, while Bayern will play against Paris Saint-Germain.

Free Kicks

• LAFC midfielder Jude Terry won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his curled shot from outside of the box against the Portland Timbers. It was the 17-year-old’s first goal in MLS and a pretty impressive way for him to open his account.
• In case you missed it, LAFC drew 1-1 against Cruz Azul to reach the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals. Nashville SC also advanced, beating Club America 1-0 at the Azteca in a huge win.
• You’ll need to get past the paywall for the full details, but the NWSL is reportedly working on a league-wide exposure agreement policy that would force players to cover up logos of non-sponsored brands.
• New Zealand qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup after winning 1-0 against Papua New Guinea.
• French forward Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup due to a leg injury sustained during Liverpool’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s our first tax day with out Kyle “The Tax Man” Smith, but hopefully we’ll still get everything filed on time. What wasn’t in time to be included today was the USWNT friendly against Japan last night since it kicked off at 10 p.m. We will have more on that match tomorrow. Most importantly, it’s match day for Orlando City, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City’s Open Cup Begins

Orlando City is in Naples for the club’s opening match of the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are facing USL League One side FC Naples tonight. FC Naples is a good team that currently sits first in USL League One. We can expect a few veterans to make an appearance, but we will likely see younger players like Zakaria Taifi. The team is expecting a sold-out crowd for the home team. Taifi shared his thoughts with the media ahead of the match.

Crocker to Saudi Arabia

Matt Crocker is no longer the sporting director of the U.S. Soccer Federation after taking a similar position with the Saudi Arabia soccer federation. Crocker is the person responsible for bringing in Emma Hayes and Mauricio Pochettino. The main part of his job was implementing a top-to-bottom alignment of the “U.S. Way” across all levels in the U. S. Soccer system. Saudi Arabia reportedly presented an offer that Crocker could not refuse. The timing is interesting given the World Cup is only about two months away.

Champions League Results

It was an eventful day in the UEFA Champions League. Soon-to-be Orlando City attacker Antoine Greizmann’s Atletico Madrid got past Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the semifinals. The USMNT’s Johnny Cardoso made a late appearance to help defend the result. Much to my chagrin, PSG ousted Liverpool 2-0 (4-0 on aggregate). The other two matches are later today with Bayern Munich taking on Real Madrid and Arsenal facing Sporting CP.

World Cup News

Do you remember the feeling you had when it was announced that the World Cup would once again be played in the United States? I remember thinking how cool it was going to be to go to a match even if it meant driving hours to do so. How naive I was. A lot of the news is more like this story about the NJ Transit raising the cost of train tickets seven fold.

Several venues are also not allowing tailgating at the games, including matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. We also now know the full list of referees from all six soccer confederations.

Free Kicks

• Javier Mascherano is out at Inter Miami. I really hope this sends Inter Miami into a tailspin for the rest of the season, though I doubt it will.

• Oscar Pareja and Mascherano aren’t the only coaches let go so far this season, but is parting ways with a coach early in a season a good idea? (Paywalled link).
• Ally Financial has reached its proposed 50/50 media goal of equal advertising spending on men’s and women’s sports media earlier than expected. I’m always suspicious of big companies, but this is still a good thing.
• The U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team defeated Brazil 2-0 in the first of two matches between the two.
• Lionel Messi has been sued for not showing up for Inter Miami friendlies. Hahahahahahaha…deep breath…hahahahahahahaha.

That will do it for today. Check back tonight for our coverage of Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup match. Vamos Orlando!

Good morning, everyone. We’ve got an extremely busy week ahead of us, as the United States Women’s National Team plays two matches, Orlando City plays in the U.S. Open Cup and Major League Soccer, and Orlando City B is back home after falling at Chattanooga on Saturday. All of that action means we’ve got a lot to discuss this morning, so let’s have a look at the links.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in matches this week so let’s check in on some of the biggest ones. Things got started on Monday as Brenden Aaronson picked up an assist on the winning goal in Leeds United’s 2-1 win over Manchester United. Tuesday sees Atletico Madrid try to preserve its 2-0 aggregate lead over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, although Johnny Cardoso is out injured. Tuesday also has Alejandro Zendejas and Club America facing Nashville SC in the Concacaf Champions Cup, with the tie level at 0-0. Thursday has Chris Richards and Crystal Palace trying to protect a 3-0 lead over Fiorentina in the UEFA Conference League. Things finish up on Friday when Haji Wright and Coventry City travel to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship.

USWNT vs. Japan Part II: Electric Boogaloo

The United States Women’s National Team will play the second of three matches against Japan tonight, with this contest set to take place in Seattle after Saturday’s 2-1 win in San Jose. The first match was all about Rose Lavelle as she scored one goal for the USWNT and assisted on the other, but there are some other areas to watch in this one. Manager Emma Hayes will likely ring the rotations after just two days of rest, so someone other than Lavelle will need to step up and be the difference maker. It was good to see the Yanks pick up a victory after losing to Japan in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, but goalkeeper Claudia Dickey had to make six saves on the night, and Hayes will likely want a stingier performance from the back line. Kickoff is set for 10 pm tonight.

Concacaf Champions Cup Preview

As mentioned earlier, the Concacaf Champions Cup is back tonight, and there are several MLS teams attempting to book passage through to the semifinals. LAFC is in the best position, as it holds a 3-0 lead over Cruz Azul, although the second leg will be played in Mexico. Regardless, grabbing even one away goal should be enough to see the California-based side through to the semis. Nashville is level at 0-0 with Club America but has a tough task ahead with the second leg set to be played at the Azteca. The Seattle Sounders are down 2-0 to Tigres but will play the second leg at Lumen Field and will need their home field advantage to pay off. The LA Galaxy got roughed up 4-2 by Toluca in the first leg but did score two away goals. You’d bet on the Galaxy to score in the comfortable confines of Dignity Health Sports Park, but the trick is going to be holding Toluca scoreless for just the second time in the last 14 matches across all competitions.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

The summer transfer window will be upon us before we know it, so it’s important to stay abreast of all the current rumors. Bayern Munich has reportedly held talks with Anthony Gordon’s representatives about a summer move, although no contact has been made with Newcastle United as of yet. Speaking of Newcastle United, the Magpies could reportedly be involved in a swap deal with Manchester United that would see Manuel Ugarte join Newcastle while Sandro Tonali moves the other way. Moving to Ligue 1, Ousmane Dembele is reportedly stalling on signing a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain, and whispers are starting about a move to Saudi Arabia or the Premier League. Finally, Endrick’s loan spell at Lyon has seen him record eight goal contributions in 11 league games, and Real Madrid is reportedly prepared to sell Gonzalo Garcia in order to make room for the Brazilian in the Spanish capital.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City dropped one spot to no.27 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• Winners from MLS matchday seven include Julian Hall and German Berterame, while Mikey Varas and Emmanuel Latte Lath found themselves on the other end of the spectrum.
• A horrible break for the Columbus Crew has been confirmed, as Wessam Abou Ali tore his ACL in Sunday’s match.

• Tottenham captain Cristian Romero will reportedly miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!